By Kathleen Gilbert
November 4, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – At the end of a hard-fought battle to sway churchgoing voters toward the Democratic ticket, Sen. Obama may have become more acquainted with the meaning of the term “true believer.”
The latest Gallup poll shows Obama claims only 28 percent of white voters who attend church more than once a week, despite his massive effort to court the historically stubborn bloc of voters. The numbers show little change from the last two presidential elections, in which 29 percent of white steady churchgoers backed Democrats John Kerry and Al Gore, despite Obama’s unprecedented outreach efforts to church-going Americans.
When Politico asked conservative leader Richard Land why he believed Democrats have failed to gain ground with highly religious white voters, his answer was simple.
“It’s abortion,” Land said upon hearing the data.
“I think pro-choice people in this culture have absolutely no idea of the depth and intensity of the moral outrage of the people who are pro-life,” he continued. “They think that conservatives use it only as a wedge issue.”
President of the Family Research Council Tony Perkins agreed. “There is no other way to explain it than Obama’s position on the issues, particularly the issue of life,” he said.
Both said that, while abortion is the sharpest dividing line between values voters and others, loyalties run much deeper than only one issue, resting upon the respective philosophies of the conservative right versus the progressive left.
According to another Politico report, not only are values voters cool towards Obama, but many plan to cast their McCain vote primarily as a means of blocking Obama from the presidency – as opposed to a positive loyalty to Sen. McCain.
“Obama has, by virtue of his liberal positions on values issues, energized values voters to show up and cast a vote against him,” said Mat Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel.
This year an army of Catholic bishops engaged election season issues with remarkable vigor, loudly denouncing candidates who support abortion and urging Catholic voters to bring their pro-life values with them into the voting booth. (https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/oct/08102710.html)
Other Christian and Evangelical voices, such as Christian radio personality Dr. James Dobson, have also come out against anti-family agendas in the months leading up to an election many consider a critical juncture in the fate of U.S. culture.